Project Edible Future- sustainable agriculture
Donation protected
Note: Check the comments section for pictures and updates of the latest work we've been doing.
Update Dec 4, 2018- It's been awhile since I've done anything with GoFundMe. I've been back in the US for the last few months working my tail off. I basically haven't had a life but the financial dreams are starting to come together. In two weeks I will probably have all the money to buy the acre of land we've secured. The land isn't the only expense though. We need to build some kind of shed(or buy a used shipping container), get remaining tools, get the garden beds prepped, buy a water pump, hoses etc etc. These are the basics. I hope to go back there in January but I'm not sure if that is realistic. I may have to stay and work longer. All of our team down there is ready to go and get to work.
Since April 18th, Nicaragua has been engulfed in violent oppression resulting in 448 deaths(July 25). Others have been taken into custody and their whereabouts are unknown. Nicaragua has had a rough history but in the last 10 years the tourism industry has seen huge growth. With the violence though, this is sadly almost all gone now. Hotels, hostels, restaurants, travel agencies and basically all kinds of businesses have been closing. The ones that are still in business close in the late afternoon since most of the violence takes place at night time. Most people don't go out after 6 pm. Some people have been fleeing the country for safety. But many don't have the money for passports and the cost of moving. With all of this chaos, unemployment has gone up dramatically and increases day by day. Most of the foreigners living and doing business here have pulled out.
To give you some personal context on this, I have been living in beautiful Leon Nicaragua on and off since 2014. Leon is one of Nicaragua's gems that has been drawing more and more tourists. In all the time that I've spent in the country, I have rarely ever felt unsafe. Until now of course. In the beginning of the year I had plans of starting a business in Leon. After much hesitation about returning to the country I am finally here. Most people say I am crazy for being here but I love the people and the country. The goal of the project is multi-faceted. My background is in permaculture or in other words sustainable agriculture. The money that I raise will go toward a few things. One will be setting up a piece of land, probably an acre or two. I will employ as many people as I can and in the process teach the people how to grow food responsibly, working with nature and not against it. I hope to give classes and workshops in the future on this topic. My final goal is to have a functioning farm with workshops and tours to show the effectiveness of the techniques(farming, education and eco-tourism combined).
Some people in the project include my good friend Marco Valladares who is an English and Spanish teacher. Currently he tutors several people here but it is not enough to make a good life. Our hope is to expand into full English classes. Luz Maria Venegas is super enthusiastic about the project. She lost her job in the tourism industry but is constantly working to bring about her dreams. Check my updates below about the work we are doing in her backyard. Teresa Molina just recently lost her job as a teacher and has been doing garden work with us. Marco Callejas and Mario Munoz are great friends and both work in the same tourism office. But they are in danger of losing their jobs. Marco loves to work with plants and animals as well as learning English. As far as the physical labor, both of them are the two main workhorses in the work we are doing. They are enthusiastic, always joking while working and practicing English feverishly.
One of the techniques we want to use is called hugelkultur farming. It's an old German farming technique. It is a lot of work to establish but once it is set up we will be able grow without or with very minimal irrigation. No tractors are needed afterwards and it establishes amazingly healthy soil for many years in the future. Every year in April and May at the end of the dry season the sky is always a brown color because of all the loose dirt that is loosened up from the tractors. The dirt causes respiratory problems. And of course it gets all over everything. On a microscopic level the consequences of over tilling the soil is even more destructive. I hope to implement a few techniques of famous Canadian urban farmer Curtis Stone. We will carefully choose crops that are unique to the market and will be in higher demand. And hopefully sell for a higher price. We are currently setting up sustainable gardens in the backyards of the team members and close friends that we trust. Part of the harvest is used by the person who owns the garden and part of it is used to sell. In this way the team members and the project can all benefit. Even though our land will be relatively small compared to the huge peanut farms here, we will practice the permaculture technique of bio-diversity. This means we will create a more natural ecosystem with a variety of crops that work together. The 1 acre piece of land we are buying will eventually be used as a farm for mostly perennial plants or in other words a food forest. There are seven layers in a food forest. 1) Root vegetables 2) Groundcovers 3) Small Plants 4) Viny climbing plants 5) Bushes 6) Small trees 7) Large trees
My hope is to help Nicaragua recuperate, not only to where it was before, but hopefully better. With this project I will try to stay away from just giving people money. I want to give them opportunities so they can improve their future. Pray for Nicaragua and please help if you can. Or share this page on social media. Thank you :)
Update Dec 4, 2018- It's been awhile since I've done anything with GoFundMe. I've been back in the US for the last few months working my tail off. I basically haven't had a life but the financial dreams are starting to come together. In two weeks I will probably have all the money to buy the acre of land we've secured. The land isn't the only expense though. We need to build some kind of shed(or buy a used shipping container), get remaining tools, get the garden beds prepped, buy a water pump, hoses etc etc. These are the basics. I hope to go back there in January but I'm not sure if that is realistic. I may have to stay and work longer. All of our team down there is ready to go and get to work.
Since April 18th, Nicaragua has been engulfed in violent oppression resulting in 448 deaths(July 25). Others have been taken into custody and their whereabouts are unknown. Nicaragua has had a rough history but in the last 10 years the tourism industry has seen huge growth. With the violence though, this is sadly almost all gone now. Hotels, hostels, restaurants, travel agencies and basically all kinds of businesses have been closing. The ones that are still in business close in the late afternoon since most of the violence takes place at night time. Most people don't go out after 6 pm. Some people have been fleeing the country for safety. But many don't have the money for passports and the cost of moving. With all of this chaos, unemployment has gone up dramatically and increases day by day. Most of the foreigners living and doing business here have pulled out.
To give you some personal context on this, I have been living in beautiful Leon Nicaragua on and off since 2014. Leon is one of Nicaragua's gems that has been drawing more and more tourists. In all the time that I've spent in the country, I have rarely ever felt unsafe. Until now of course. In the beginning of the year I had plans of starting a business in Leon. After much hesitation about returning to the country I am finally here. Most people say I am crazy for being here but I love the people and the country. The goal of the project is multi-faceted. My background is in permaculture or in other words sustainable agriculture. The money that I raise will go toward a few things. One will be setting up a piece of land, probably an acre or two. I will employ as many people as I can and in the process teach the people how to grow food responsibly, working with nature and not against it. I hope to give classes and workshops in the future on this topic. My final goal is to have a functioning farm with workshops and tours to show the effectiveness of the techniques(farming, education and eco-tourism combined).
Some people in the project include my good friend Marco Valladares who is an English and Spanish teacher. Currently he tutors several people here but it is not enough to make a good life. Our hope is to expand into full English classes. Luz Maria Venegas is super enthusiastic about the project. She lost her job in the tourism industry but is constantly working to bring about her dreams. Check my updates below about the work we are doing in her backyard. Teresa Molina just recently lost her job as a teacher and has been doing garden work with us. Marco Callejas and Mario Munoz are great friends and both work in the same tourism office. But they are in danger of losing their jobs. Marco loves to work with plants and animals as well as learning English. As far as the physical labor, both of them are the two main workhorses in the work we are doing. They are enthusiastic, always joking while working and practicing English feverishly.
One of the techniques we want to use is called hugelkultur farming. It's an old German farming technique. It is a lot of work to establish but once it is set up we will be able grow without or with very minimal irrigation. No tractors are needed afterwards and it establishes amazingly healthy soil for many years in the future. Every year in April and May at the end of the dry season the sky is always a brown color because of all the loose dirt that is loosened up from the tractors. The dirt causes respiratory problems. And of course it gets all over everything. On a microscopic level the consequences of over tilling the soil is even more destructive. I hope to implement a few techniques of famous Canadian urban farmer Curtis Stone. We will carefully choose crops that are unique to the market and will be in higher demand. And hopefully sell for a higher price. We are currently setting up sustainable gardens in the backyards of the team members and close friends that we trust. Part of the harvest is used by the person who owns the garden and part of it is used to sell. In this way the team members and the project can all benefit. Even though our land will be relatively small compared to the huge peanut farms here, we will practice the permaculture technique of bio-diversity. This means we will create a more natural ecosystem with a variety of crops that work together. The 1 acre piece of land we are buying will eventually be used as a farm for mostly perennial plants or in other words a food forest. There are seven layers in a food forest. 1) Root vegetables 2) Groundcovers 3) Small Plants 4) Viny climbing plants 5) Bushes 6) Small trees 7) Large trees
My hope is to help Nicaragua recuperate, not only to where it was before, but hopefully better. With this project I will try to stay away from just giving people money. I want to give them opportunities so they can improve their future. Pray for Nicaragua and please help if you can. Or share this page on social media. Thank you :)
Organizer
Scott Harmon
Organizer
